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Tutoring Reese
|image= |airdate=March 11, 2001 |previous=Reese Cooks |next=Bowling }} Tutoring Reese is the nineteenth episode of season two of Malcolm in the Middle. Synopsis Reese is getting bad grades in school, and so Malcolm is forced to tutor him, he eventually learns the real reason behind it. Meanwhile, Francis comes back to visit home again and quickly gets himself kicked out of the house for refusing to fix the roof of the house. Plot The opening scene before the opening credit sequence shows Hal smoking a lit cigar in the garage, using a shop vac to hide the fumes of tobacco so Lois does not find out. Lois calls out to Hal looking for him, in a panic, he puts the cigar in the vacuum's hose to hide the evidence. When Lois comes in, she asks Hal if he is sneaking out to smoke again. Hal tries to hide this by saying he is vacuuming in the garage. Hal explains to Lois if he wanted to smoke a cigar then he would do it out in the open like a responsible adult instead of sneaking around, the vacuum starts making funny sounds and exhaling smoke, then it stops functioning. Lois tells him: "That was our third shop vac, that is our last shop vac." She leaves the garage. The episode begins in the kitchen and Lois ordering Francis to re-shingle the roof because Hal has a fear of heights, even from two feet up. Francis finds it unfair since he immediately put to work after coming home from school the previous day and asks why Lois doesn't she just put a choke chain around his neck and make him sleep in the garage before storming out of the kitchen. Malcolm, Reese and Dewey are all eating cereal while listening in to the fight. Malcolm claims that Lois has entered a "level 4 rage" and the only way to avoid it is to make no sudden movements or make no eye contact at any costs. Reese's spoon accidentally clatters on his bowl, and Lois tells him on how just because he hid his parent-teacher interview note, it does not mean it isn't going to happen, Reese claims his teacher Mr. Woodward is out to get him, Lois then reminds him he has thought every teacher since kindergarten has had it out for him. Malcolm accidentally sniffs and Lois turns her attention to him, Malcolm immediately grabs the cereal box to avoid Lois' rage, leaving Dewey vulnerable. Malcolm and Dewey fight over it, but are spared when Hal walks into the kitchen to heat up a toaster pastry and Lois asks him about a clogged drain. He avoids Lois' question by pointing at a milk ring on the table. At the parent-teacher interview, Mr Woodward explains to Lois and Hal about Reese's focus is diffuse, his initiative is waning, and that it is preventing his complete skills that will lead him to passing. Lois does not really understand his vocabulary and asks to be more clear, Mr Woodward reveals to Hal and Lois that Reese is flunking almost every subject, and his recommendation is for him to be transferred into the school's remedial class. Hal and Lois are strongly against that decision and assures Mr Woodward that they will make sure Reese buckles down and get back on track with his studies, Mr Woodward is pleased with their level of commitment to Reese's situation. At home, Lois makes Malcolm tutors Reese every night to improve his lousy grades, and that she has zero tolerance on any misconduct, Malcolm finds it unfair that he is punished for Reese's actions. Francis comments on how their mother finally found the courage to speak her mind, Lois asks why he isn't fixing the roof, he explains that it is 40 degrees and freezing with a chance of rain... Which is why Lois instructs him to fix it before then. Francis tells off Lois with purchasing cheap, unreliable shingles being the cause of the constant leaking, Lois then states that as long as Francis is staying in the house, he must do what she says. Francis decides to stand up to himself and he gives a speech about how she has dictated what she wanted, how she's "the boss of the world" and how irritating it is. The result being Lois kicking him out of the house for defying her rules, Francis says to a homeless man at a bus stop it was totally worth it. The homeless man offers Francis a warm and comfortable place located near the bus station to stay for a while, just as Francis has accepted on the offer, Richie pulls up in his car and offers Francis to stay at his house. Francis accepts Richie's offer instead and goes with him. As a subplot, Dewey finds a house fly after playing with some coloring books, which he names Tony. In the boy's bedroom. Malcolm tells Reese he does not like Mom's orders either, and that they should get through it. Malcolm pulls out a completely wet and folded textbook which Reese threw at a duck, Malcolm looks for Reese's math book and asks which half of it, they start with geography but Reese does not take it because has a horrible grade in it. Richie brings Francis to the basement of his parent's house which smells of dirty laundry, mildew, and a dead rat Richie shot, Richie gives Francis a pool raft to use as a bed which requires air to be blown into it. Richie and Francis sit on the couch and turns on the TV to watch a porno movie. Malcolm is holding up a math book to help with a problem Reese is trying to solve, but whenever he feels like he has the answer, he gets back to trying to solve it. Malcolm gets upset and asks Reese to use his brain, that the tenths have to go somewhere, Reese then says the answer "4.2" and he starts understanding. While Lois is going over some bills, she hears hammering on the roof, she goes outside and sees Hal trying to re-shingle the roof himself, Lois tells him that it is Francis' responsibility; he cannot keep covering for him. Hal states that it's not about Francis, but about himself. Suddenly, a leaf touches Hal and freaks out. Meanwhile, Malcolm is looking over an essay that Reese wrote himself, he states that he spent two days working on it, and how he went back to a paragraph to re-write it. Malcolm is amazed by it, and believes that it is work that gets him a C-. Malcolm congratulates Reese for his hard work and truly says that it it the best work he has ever seen him do. Unfortunately, the essay comes back with an F which infuriates Lois. Malcolm tries to tell her that he looked over it and that it is not what it looks like. Reese tells her that he and Malcolm spent 4 hours a night, Lois now instructs the boys to work 8 hours a night in order for Reese's grades to go up, and repels them back to their room. Hal slides off the roof with his legs dangling, he says that he is okay. At Richie's house, Francis is bundled up because the basement's window is left open letting in cold wind. Francis tells himself he does not need heat because he has justice on his side, and that his mother Lois will give in. Richie is clipping his toenails on the TV stand, Francis asks if he could do it in the bathroom, Richie says that one one is going in there for at least six hours, Francis then suggests to do it over a wastebasket and to keep it down on the pornographic movie, Richie says that when it ends he'll put on another one. Francis insists to stop with the pornography, Richie tells him it is a documentary. Just then, Richie's toenail flies out and it lands in Francis' right eye. The next day at school, Malcolm tells Reese to focus because his next test starts in two hours, Reese is worried that he won't pass because the test contains 30 true-false questions and five essays. Dabney, Lloyd, and Stevie drop by and they tease at how a "B" is required to prevent himself from getting put in the remedial class. Reese agrees with Stevie's comment on how he himself is an idiot. Lloyd says that the only way he can pass the test is if someone else takes it for him, Reese says he cannot be put in the school's remedial class because all of the kids hold onto each other's belts as they pass through the cafeteria. Malcolm starts thinking about what Lloyd said and that someone else should take the test, Reese is against that because their mother Lois will find out and will be punished for it. Malcolm tells Reese that they are out of options, and that they have four other brilliant minds who devise a plan, Dabney refuses to go along and threatens to inform the vice-principal about it, Lloyd then extorts him by telling everyone he still sleeps with an Elmo blanket, Dabney then agrees to help out with the plan. In the classroom, Dabney and Lloyd barge in with a VCR television telling Mr Woodward that he asked for one, in the television's stand. Malcolm -- who's hiding in the rolling stand -- sneaks in Reese's test off his desk and puts an exact copy of it, Dabney and Lloyd quickly take the VCR television out of the classroom. Malcolm is in the hallway writing down all the answers on Reese's real test, the bell rings and a passing period begins. Mr Woodward comes out of the classroom with all of the student's tests. Lloyd and Dabney push Stevie towards Mr Woodward causing him to drop all of the tests that will be graded, Malcolm quickly sneaks Reese's real test and takes the fake one. Some time later, Mr Woodward passes out the graded tests, Reese sees that he got another "F". In Richie's basement, Francis is struggling to keep warm, he is wearing a patch over his right eye from the toenail. He gets up and goes over the hole in the wall to grab some insulin to put in his sweatshirt, he finds the dead rat that Richie mentioned earlier. Dewey is arguing with his fly Tony about who's cartoons it is, but quickly makes up with him. In the kitchen, Lois asks Malcolm and Reese about the history test, they tell her they have not gotten it back yet, Lois tells them they better pray for a "B" and gives them their lunch. Hal comes into the kitchen, Lois tells him she believes Francis is making a point by cutting himself off from all contact and until he is ready to apologize for going against fixing the roof, there is no reason for him to call. Hal leaves with Francis' lunch. At lunch, Malcolm and his Krelboyne friends are looking over Reese's test and find it very troubling, Dabney is paranoid thinking Mr Woodward knew of their plot. Malcolm tells Dabney he has no knowledge about their plan, and leaves to go talk Mr Woodward. Malcolm finds Mr Woodward in his classroom, he says to him that the answers on Reese's recent test weren't as bad, and asks if there is any way he can review it. Mr Woodward insists that Reese's test deserves the "F". Malcolm tries to persuade him to look at it again, but Mr Woodward interrupts Malcolm by saying he cannot waste anymore time focusing on Reese's academics, it is unfair to the rest of the students in the class. Mr Woodward then starts talking about how throughout his life, he has dealt with kids who behave exactly the same way as Reese. Malcolm soon discovers that he really is out to get Reese. They cannot tell Lois because she will then know that they cheated. The students from the remedial class pass through. Francis is still staying in Richie's basement, it has started raining. Richie is cooking burgers over a trash can fire, Francis is glad to see his father Hal come by, Francis tells him that he has a plan to win the argument over Lois, but Hal refuses to listen to it. Hal tells Francis to stop putting him in the middle of every argument, he tells Francis that the real problem is that he and Lois are exactly alike; they're both stubborn and unwilling to drop every argument. Hal insincerely congratulates Francis with his current living situation, he gives him his bagged lunch and leaves the basement. Richie throws the canister of lighter fluid into the lit trash can fire, and realizes he created an flaming explosion. Malcolm enters the house with Dewey, Dewey leaves with his fly Tony. Mr Woodward is in the kitchen speaking with Hal and Lois, he gives them a document that, once signed, Reese will be placed in the remedial class. Before Hal and Lois get a chance to sign it, he tells them that Reese did not deserve an "F" on his test, and that Reese's teacher truly is out to get Reese. Mr Woodward keeps telling him that the test is what it is, Malcolm shows him one of the test's questions, Mr Woodward says it's a partial answer, Malcolm recites the rest of the answer that Reese's teacher didn't bother to read and tells him it is exactly what he wrote. Lois hears this, and finds out that Malcolm helped Reese cheat. She is furious, then she immediately finds out that Mr Woodward put an "F" on something Malcolm wrote, she takes her fury on Mr Woodward about how Reese was telling the truth the whole time. Mr Woodward informs Lois that if the school finds out about Malcolm taking Reese's test for him, he will be expelled, Lois sees this as a threat and tells him that Malcolm's knowledge will guarantee his future, and that Reese is the one who needs saving. Mr Woodward does not believe that Lois could ever have any disregards for their own son, Francis appears at the door begging to come home, how we will fix the roof, paint the house, anything to be inside. Mr Woodward accepts his defeat and then arranges a deal to prevent him from getting fired. In the end, Dewey sets his fly Tony free by taking him out the bedroom window to prevent Lois from swatting him. Malcolm, Reese, Francis, Hal, and Francis are all re-shingling the roof of the house. Category:Episodes Category:Season 2 Category:Episodes focusing on Malcolm Category:Episodes focusing on Reese Category:Episodes focusing on Francis